Well packer



July 8, 1952 M. B. CONRAD ETAL WELL PACKER 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 Filed March11, 1949 MART/N CoA/2.40,

ALp/l IJ. MATLACK,

I N VEN TORS.

BY Mew/MJ' X41/wm rrofQ/VEYS July 8, 1952 M. B. CONRAD ET AL WELL PACKER2 SHEETS--SHEET 2 Filed March 11, 1949 MART/1v B. CoA/eno, Q4/.PH KMATLACK,

IN V EN TOR 5.

rro/QNEYS Patented July 8, 1952 ulSJlTED STATES PATENT oFEicE K.Matlack, Maywood, Calif., assgnors to Baker Oil Tools, Inc., Vernon,Calif., a corporation of v `California Application March 11, 1949,Serial No. 80,837

The present 'invention relates to well packers adapted to be set in openwell bores, as well as in casings, liners and similar conduits disposedin well bores.

An object of the invention is to provide a well packer embodyingapacking structure which, when expanded outwardly against the wall of aconfining enclosure, is capable of resisting displacement upon beingsubjected tosubstantial pressures, and without the necessity foremploying supplementary gripping devices, such as slips and the like.

Anotherl object of the invention isv to provide a well packer embodyinga packing structure capable of effectively anchoring itself to the wallof the formation in o-pen hole, or wall of a well conduit. in order toresist longitudinal displacementwhen subjected to substantial pressuresvin the well bore.

A further objectV of the inventionis to limit positivelyy the extent towhich the packing structure of the well packer can beexpanded'outwardly.

edly secured to its lower end. A packing sleeve I2 of rubber orrubber-like material is disposed around the body, with its lower endresting upon an upwardly extending annular boss I3 of the lowerabutment. The upper end of the packing sleeve engages a correspondingboss I4 extending, downwardly from an upper abutment This inventionVpossesses many other advantages; and has otherobjects which vmay be mademore clearly apparent from aconsideration of a form inwhich it may beembodied. rIhis form is shown in the drawingsv accompanying and formingpart of the present. specification. It will nowbe described in detail,for the purpose of illustrating thegeneral principles ofthe invention;but it is to be understood that such detailed description is not to betaken in a limiting sense, since the scope of the invention is bestdefined by the appended claims.

Referring to the drawings:`

Figs. 1 and la together constitute a longitudinal section through a wellapparatus disposed in a well bore, with the parts occupyingtheirrelative positions for lowering the equipment in the well bore, Fig. 1aforming a lower continuation of Fig. 1; y

Fig. 2'is a View similarjto Fig. 1a of the well packer expanded againstthe wall of the well bore;

Fig. 3 is a cross-section takeny along the line 3-3onFg.1a;

Fig. l is an enlargedfragmentary section of the locking device employedin the well packer;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary, longitudinal o section through thelower portionvof .the packing structure -forming part ,of thel wellpacker, disclosed yin its initial retracted condition packerjafterfle'xpansion of its packing structure against `the wall of the wellbore;

I5 that is slidable downwardly along the body I0.

The packing sleeve I'2 is made of natural or synthetic rubber and thelike, and is capable of being expanded outwardly against the wall of aconfining enclosure, such as the wall of a well formation B. Suchexpansion occurs as the result of downward movement of the upperabutment' I5, andrrelative upward movement of the body III and its lowerabutment II, in order to foreshorten the packing sleeve I2 and effectits outward expansion against the wall of the conning enclosure.

The packing sleeve I2 initially has substantial clearance with the wallof the confining enclosure, to insure its unimpeded lowering through thewell bore to the desired point at which it is to be set therewithin. Inorder to prevent cold flowing of the rubber packing material through theclearance spaces I6 existing between the upper and lower abutments I5,II and the confining well bore, flow preventing rings or bridgingmembers II are disposed at opposite ends of the packing sleeve. Theserings may. be made of suitable material, such as rubber that issubstantially harder than the packing sleeve. Fach` ring II is seatedwithin a recess I8 provided by the boss I3 or I4, and is centered byengaging the periphery of the boss. Its peripheryl is initiallysubstantially cylindrical, whereas itsr inner surface I9 is inclined,vengaging a companion inclined innersurface 20 at the end of the packingsleeve. This sleeve also has a shoulder 2| at each end engaging thesmall end 22 of the tapered ring` I'I.

The direction of taper of the upper ring surface I9 and the inclinedsurface 20 at the upper end of the packing sleeveV I2 is upwardly andinwardly, whereas vthe direction of taperof the lower ring surface andthe lower inclinedsur-` time, the packing sleeve I2 is expanded againstthe formation wall, as is clear from Fig. 2.

The packing is heldin such expanded condition by a lock device includinga split, inherently conresult of pressure or other forces imposed uponit vfrom above, or from below. In order to increase its resistance tosuch displacement, a circumferential groove 3I is formed at each endportion of the packing sleeve a short distance from the flow/preventing.ring I'I. This groove Y is of `\f'shape, being dened by atransverseouter tractile sleeve 23 disposed withinv the abutment i.: and havinginternal annular ratchet teeth 23 adapted to engage the periphery of thebody I0. The sleeve is also provided with external teeth 2:3 possessingback cam faces 25 engageable with the companion cam faces 23 on internalteeth 2i formed within the movable abutment member l5. The exterior 2Bof theA body IE! may be roughened, if desired, to insure gripping of theratchet teeth aagainst the' body.

The internal ratchet teeth 23a on the sleeve face upwardly in order togrip the body I!) and prevent upward movement of the movable abutment I5along the body; or, conversely, relative downward movement of the bodyI) within the abutment. The cam'faces .25, 26 slope in an upward andoutward direction, in order that any tendency for the` abutment I5 tomove upwardly, or vthe body I!) downwardly, will cause the cam faces toengage and press the ratchet teeth 23 morenrmly into engagement with theroughened exterior 28 on the body, thereby precluding movements in thedirections referred to.

The cam teeth 25, 21 and ratchet teeth 23 may be formed conveniently asbuttress types of threads, since a machining operation can be performedreadily with a thread cutting lathe. The roughened exterior of thebodymay be formed by cutting shallow, downwardly facing ratchet teeth 28that may also be formed as a buttress type of thread having the samepitch as theY internal thread 23 of the lock sleeve 22.

The lock device constitutes a one-way coupling permitting relativedownward movement of the upper abutment I5 along the body IG, in orderto expand the packing sleeve I2 outwardly against the formation B. Oncesuch expansion occurs, the lock device prevents return movement of themovable abutment I5 in an upward direction, or downward movement of thebody I3 within the movable abutment, insuring the retention of thepacking sleeve I2 in its expanded condition.

In the. event that the diameter of the open hole in which the packer Ais to be set is too great,

shoulder 32 and an inner inclined base portion 33. The shoulder surfaceis displaced a short distance from the now preventing ring I'I, toprovide an elastic flange 34. Y

It is to be noted that the grooves 3l at the end portions of the packingsleeve I2 are alike, but

' that they are cppositely arranged. Thus, the

sloping face 33 of the upper groove is tapered in an upward and inwarddirection, whereas the v' sloping face of the lower groovel is taperedin a it is desired to avoid setting the packer in such portion of theopen hole. This is done by limiting the extent to which the packingsleeve I2 can be expanded.

As shown rin the drawings, a tubular stop member 3B is disposed aroundVthe lower portion of the body i0, and rests upon the lower abutmentboss I3 within the packing sleeve. This tubular member extends onlypartially upwardly alongv the body; so that movement of the upperabutment I5 along the body toward ,the lower abutment II is limited byits engagement with the upper end of the tubular sto-p member. vIn thismanner, a definite limit is placed upon the degree to which the packingsleeve I2 can be foreshortened, and the extent of its radial expansion.

When expanded against the formation, the n packing sleeve I2 will resistdisplacement, as a downward and inward direction.

It has beenfound that when the packing sleeve I2 is foreshortened andexpanded against the wall of the formation, the V-shaped groove 3'I isclosed by the elastic rubber material of which the packing sleeve I 2 isformed. The rubber material I2o in the sleeve on the sloping face sideof the .groove SI flows around the exterior of the flange portion 34 ofthe sleeve, and becomes tightly clamped between this flange portion andthe wall of the formation, or other confining enclosure. This conditionis exemplified in Fig. 6. This wedging ofv the rubber packing materialI`2a between the packing flange portion 34 and the formation'wallgreatly increases the resistance of the set packer to longitudinaldisplacement, and, accordingly,

requires a much greater pressureV to force the set packer longitudinallyalong the hole. `Actual demonstrations have proved this to .be the case,since the packing sleeve I2! provided with. 'the groo-ves 3| requiredmuch higher pump pressures to effect longitudinal displacement of thewell packer than packing sleeves without the grooves formed therein.

The effectiveness of the groovedpacking sleeve is so pronounced as toenable the packer to be set in a well conduit, such as aswell casing C(Fig. 7)'. Despiterthe fact that the inner wall surface of such a wellconduit is relatively smooth, the packing sleeve I2 still becomesanchored tothe casing tenaciously. It cannot be displaced unlesssubjected to substantial pressures. As in the setting of the well packerin open hole, the packing material I2a on the inner side of each groove3| tends to flow around the packing flange. or endV portion 34, andbecomes wedged between snch portion and the wall of the well casing C,providing a greater friction forcebetween the packing structure and thewell casing, and requiring mulch greater pressures to displace the wellpacker than was heretofore necessary.

The well packer A can be set in several ways, so.

long as the upper abutment l5 is movablev downwardly and the packer bodyI0 shifted upwardlywith respect to eachV other.V As shown in thedrawings, the packer is run in the Vwell bore by means of a wire line D,and is set inthe well bore by a setting tool E. Y Y ,y f Y The settingtool E includes a cylinderBe-having upper and lowerA heads 3138threadedinto the opposite ends of a cylinder sleeve-39. The upper head31 is threaded ontoa vcable-headt secured to the wire line Din aknowrrmanner; Also threaded into the cable headis a gun barrel ISI having alblank cartridge 42 connected electrically to the conductivecoref`14`3-of :the -wire line. This cartridge 42, when-fired, ignites,the supper end of a combustible .cha'fged't ruches' @railway j flare,disposed `within a, combustion chamberi in theupper head 3 1.llie-combustiblegchargegenerates gases under pressure withinthecylinder,36,'forcing a piston 4B downwardly ,within= the cylinder, orreactivelyv elevating the cylinder itself. This piStQn is secured to adepending pis.-

apart ofthe stud atthis point when the ultimate load capacity of thestud vin tension is exceeded.

'I fhe piston rod has a cross-piece 53 mounted in its lower slot 55,which extends in opposite directions from the rod through alignedelongate slots 55 in the tubular mandrel 48. The crosspiece extendsbeyond these slots and into aligned slots 55 in as etting ring 51, onwhih the upper end of a setting sleeve 58 is threadedly secured. Thissetting sleeve extends downwardly along themandrel and has an adapterring59 secured to its lower end, to which an adapter sleeve. 68 isattached, as by use of welding material 6I. The lower end of thisadapter sleeve 60 bears upon a shoulder 62 of the movable abutmentmember I5.

Leakage from and into the cylinder 35 is preceeded, upon increasein` thepressure within' the cylinder to a value corresponding to the ultimatestrength ofv the tension stud,.the latter will be pulled apart at itsreduced diameter portion 52, automatically releasing the setting tool Efrom thev well packer A., The setting tool may now be removed from the.wellbore by elevating the wire line Following release of the settingtool E' from the packer iA, the .latter will remain locked in itspacked-off condition. YSuch locking action is assisted by the Wedging ofthe packing material I 2a behind the flanges 34 at the end portions ofthepackingsleeve I2. Movement of the abutments I I, I 5 away from oneanother is prevented bythe one-way ratchet sleeve 22.

The inventors claim:

l. In a well packer: a body; a packing sleeve disposed around said body;means for expanding vented by the seal rings 83; whereas leakage f alongthe piston 45 is prevented by the piston rings 64. Y

The well packer A, with its parts in retracted position, is secured tothe setting tool E, and this combination is lowered on the wire line Dwithin the well bore or casing to the desired setting point. When suchpoint is reached, the blank cartridge VA24 is fired electrically toignite. the upperv end ofthe power or combustible charge 44. Burning ofthis charge exerts a downward force on the piston 45 and piston rod 41,shifting them downwardly within the cylinder 36` and also moving thecross-piece 53, setting ring 51, setting sleeve 58, adapter ring 53 andadapter sleeve 65 in a downward direction. Such downward movement firstdisrupts a shear pin 65, holding the upper abutment I5 to the body I0,and shifts the upper abutment downwardly, as permitted by ratcheting ofits lock sleeve 22 downwardly over the body IIJ, toward the lowerabutment II, in order to foreshorten the packing sleeve I2 and expand itoutwardly against the well bore or conning casing, in the mannerdescribed above.

The pressure in the clinder continues to increase, as the result ofcontinued combustion of the charge 44, urging the piston 4G downwardlywith a greater force, and moving the cylinder 36 relatively upwardly. Asdescribed above, the piston 46 exerts its force downwardly upon thepacking sleeve I2 through the piston rod 41, cross-piece 53, settingring 51, setting sleeve 58, adapter ring 53, adapter sleeve 60 and upperabutment I5. 'Ihe cylinder 36 exerts an upward force on the packingsleeve I2 through the tubular mandrel 48, tension stud 5I, packer bodyI0 and the body abutment II. Thus, the upper abutment I5 and lowerabutment I I are urged toward one another with an increasing force, asthe power charge generates gas under pressure, packing the sleeve I2more securely between the body and the confining well bore or casing.

When the tensile strength of the stud 5I is exsaid packing sleeveoutwardly; said packing sleeve having an exposed external generallyV-shaped circumferential groove in one of its end portions,y

an abutment engageable with said one end portion, the side wall of saidgroove toward said one end portion being transverse of the sleeve axis,and the side wallv of said groove toward the central portion of saidpacking sleeve being inclined,y to said other side wall in a lateraloutward direction leading away from said end portion.`

disposed around said body; means for expanding said packing sleeveoutwardly; said packing sleeve having an exposed external generally V-shaped circumferential groove in each of its end portions, said groovesbeing adapted to be closed by said packing sleeve upon its Youtwardexpansion; an abutment engageable with each of said end portions; theside `wall of each groove toward its adjacent end portion beingtransverse of the sleeve axis, and the side wall of each groovetowardvthe central portion of the packing sleeve being inclined to saidother side wall, said inner side walls of saidgrooves converging towardeach other. .Y Y

3. In a well packer: a body; a packing sleeve disposed around said body;a first abutment on said body engageable with one end of said sleeve; asecond abutment slidable along said body toward the first abutment andengageable with the other end of said sleeve; said packing sleeve havingan exposed external generally V-shaped circumferential groove in one ofits end portions; the side wall of said Vgroove toward said one endportion being transverse of the sleeve axis, and the side wall of saidgroove toward the central portion of said packing sleeve being inclinedto said other side wall in a lateral outward direction leading away fromsaid end portion.

4. In a well packer: a body; a packing sleeve around said body; a rstabutment on said body having a boss engageable with one end extremity ofsaid sleeve; a second abutment slidable along said body toward saidfirst abutment and having a boss engageable with the other end extremityof said sleeve; a deformable ring on each abutment encompassing itsboss, said ring having an inner tapered surface engageable with acompanion tapered surface on said packing sleeve; said packing sleevehaving a circumferential groove adjacent each ring and spacedlongitudinally inwardly therefrom, each of said grooves having a sidewall toward its adjacent ring transverse of the sleeve axis, the sidewall of said groove toward the central portion of said 2. In r"a wellpacker: ,a body;A a packing4 sleeve V 7 packing sleeve being inclined tosaid other side wall. A-

5. In a..well packer: a body; a packing sleeve around said body; a firstabutment on said body having a boss engageable with one end extremity ofsaid sleeve; a second abutment slidable along said body toward said rstabutment. and hav- Y ing a boss engageable with the other .end extremityof said sleeve; a deformable ring on each abutment encompassingits boss,said ring packing sleeve being inclined to said other sidey wall; and atubular Vmember disposed around said body within said packing sleeve andengageable with both abutments to limit the approach of said abutmentstoward each other.

6. In a Well packer: a body; a packing sleeve around said body; a rstabutment on said body having a boss engageable with one end extremity ofsaid sleeve; a second abutment sl-idable along said body toward saidfirst abutment and having a boss engageable with the other end extremityof said sleeve; a deformable ring on each abutment encompassing itsboss, said ring having an inner tapered surface engageable with a`companion tapered surface on said packing sleeve; said packing sleevehaving a circumferential groove adjacent each ring and spacedVlongitudinally inwardly therefrom, each of said grooves having a sidewall toward its adjacent ring transverse of the sleeve axis, the sidewall of said groove toward the central portion of said packing sleevebeing inclined to said other side wall; and one-way lock means forpreventing movement of said second abutment away from Vsaid firstabutment.

'7. In a well packer: Y-a body; a packing sleeve around said body; afirst abutment on said body having an. annular boss engageable with oneend extremity of fs'aid sleeve; a second abutment slidablev along saidbody toward said first abutment and having an annular boss engageablewith the otherfend extremityof said sleeve; and a deformable ring oneach abutment encompassing its boss, said ring having aninner taperedsurface engageable with a companion tapered surface on said packingsleeve.v

8. In a Well packer: a body; a packing sleeve around said body; a firstabutment on said body having a boss engageable with one end extremity ofsaid sleeve; a second abutment slidable along said body toward saidrstabutment and having a boss engageable with thehother end Yextremityof said sleeve; a deformable ring on each abutment encompassing itsVboss, said ring having an inner tapered surface engageable with acompanion tapered surface on said packing sleeve;v saidpacking sleevehaving an exposed E circumferential groove adjacent each ring and spacedlongitudinally inwardly therefrom, each of said grooves having a sidewall toward its adjacent ringtransverse of the sleeve axis, the sideVwall of said groove toward the central portion of said packing sleevebeing inclined to said other side wall, said inclined side Walls of saidgrooves converging toward each other.

MARTIN B. CONRAD. RALPH K. MATLAeK.

REFERENCES YCITED The following references are of recordrin the iile ofthis patent:

l UNITED STATES PATENTS Number

